Service Policies and Guidelines Links
Eligibility | Questions and Documentation | Program Guidelines | Tornado Warning
Eligibility Requirements
In order to qualify for services, students must present written evidence from a qualified professional verifying their disability to the Director of ODS. All documentation received is confidential and will be kept confidential. The federal definition of a disability is as follows:
A person with a disability (handicap)
- has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities.
- has a record of such an impairment; or
- is regarded as having such an impairment.
"Major life activities" includes functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
Questions and Documentation
Q: Whom do you talk with about services?
A: If you have any questions about services or procedures, write them down and arrange a meeting with the Director of ODS. During this meeting, you and the Director will be able to discuss your college plans and develop a plan for services. Each student will develop an individualized plan for services with ODS.
Q: What type of documentation do I need to provide in order to receive services at WSU?
A: The Office of Disability Services requires differing types of documentation based on the student's specific disabilty or disabilities. Below are links that will take you to guidelines the Kansas Association of Higher Education and Disability have adopted. These guidelines are to help parents, students and secondary schools as students prepare to transition from High School to a post secondary educational setting. Each case is reviewed individually and the guidelines will help all involved to determine the most appropriate set of accommodations for the student. You will also find links to forms we use for documenting a person's disability. You can download these forms as Word or .pdf files, print them and have them completed by the appropriate professional. You can then bring them with you to your intake meeting with the Director.
Documentation of Disability forms.
Physical Disability (hearing, visual, mobility, or neurological) .doc .pdf
Learning Disability / ADHD .doc .pdf
Psychological Disability .doc .pdf
Documentation Guidelines
ADHD Guidelines .doc .pdf
Learning Disability Guidelines .doc .pdf
Psychological Disability Guidelines .doc .pdf
Parent letter concerning documentations issues.
Q: What is ODS's design for delivering services?
A: ODS promotes a philosophy of independence. We do not wish students to become dependent on our services, but to use services as a support to accomplish their academic goals. Auxiliary aids and services are based on need, as supported by documentation of disability. Students are encouraged to communicate needs openly when they meet with the Director to insure that proper services are provided. Students are encouraged to experiment with services and develop a package of services which allows them to remain as independent as possible on campus. Students should be aware that services will be designed in a manner intended to remove barriers in the classroom which could hinder a student's ability to learn. Services are not intended to give the student an advantage over other students in the class.
Services could include moving classrooms to an accessible building, building of ramps or curb cuts, or arranging for adjustable tables in class rooms, as well as arranging meetings with instructors to discuss services. ODS conducts presentations periodically to raise awareness of disability issues and concerns on campus.
ODS will, upon request, provide students with information about community organizations that benefit people who experience a disability.
Program and Service Guidelines
Class Attendance
The WSU classroom attendance policy states it is the student's responsibility to "attend all meetings of each class in which they are enrolled (instructors will announce at the beginning of the semester if they consider attendance in computing final grades.) (Undergraduate Catalog)
ODS is not obligated to provide services for students who do not attend class. Students may request continuation of services from the Director if the absence is due to a disability-related issue. Otherwise, if a student misses a class, regular services and class notes or tapes may not be provided.
Requesting Services
When a student makes initial contact with the ODS, the Director or the Assistant Director will schedule an intake interview to obtain information from the student and enter this information into the ODS database. At this initial interview, policies, procedures, and forms relevant to the student's services will be discussed with the student. It is necessary that current documentation of disability for each student be on file at ODS. This interview should take place at least five school days before the services start. ODS will try to accommodate requests made under the five day limit, but services will be provided only if there is adequate staffing available.
All service requests and the completion of the "Semester Service Agreement" form should be made in person at the ODS main office. The Director or Assistant Director will complete the "Semester Service Agreement" in consultation with the student. All other forms used to request additional services should be submitted to ODS a minimum of three school days before the service is needed.
Canceling/Changing Services
Students are required to inform ODS when they plan to cancel or change scheduled services. ODS has a telephone voice mail system (987-3309) and a videophone with message-taking capabilities (316-854-3032) that are activated after office hours to allow the student to call and cancel or change services.
If a student changes or cancels services, the following should occur:
- The student can substitute the scheduled service with a new, revised request which will occur during their previously scheduled time period, but they must inform ODS of the change prior to the scheduled service. Depending on the nature of the substituted service, ODS will make the determination as to the availability of staff to provide that service.
- The student should meet with the Director or Assistant Director to permanently cancel services or change services. Changes to the "Semester Service Agreement" form should be completed to reflect the new services.
Arriving Late for Services
Student Assistants (SA's) provided by ODS will wait ten minutes for the student to arrive for the scheduled assignment. If the student fails to previously inform ODS they will not be arriving within the ten-minute frame, services will not be provided unless there is available ODS staff.
Interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing students will wait ten minutes for every hour of the class for students who arrive late.
Suspension of Services
All incidents regarding absenteeism, tardiness, cancellations, changes, and interruption of service will be documented by ODS staff and submitted to the Director for review. If a student develops a consistent pattern of behavior that causes a disruption in scheduling, the provisions of services, or is continuously confrontational with ODS employees or other students, the following steps will occur to rectify the situation:
- The Director will meet with the student to discuss the issues and develop a mutually agreed upon action plan to correct the situation. The plan will include goals, objectives, and compliance time lines to be monitored by the Assistant Director.
- If the problem occurs before or after the initial time line has been set, a second meeting with the Director will take place to evaluate the situation. Final written time lines to resolve the problem will be established at this meeting.
- If there is no resolution of the problem, the student will receive, in writing, a temporary suspension of services for a two-week period. At the end of the two-week temporary suspension period, a meeting will be held with the student and the Director to determine if services will be reinstated.
- If an agreement of compliance by the student is not reached between the student and the Director, then services will be terminated. The student will be notified in writing that she/he may appeal this decision to the Dean of Students. Services will be pending during the appeal process. Reinstatement of services depends on the outcome of the appeal.
Tornado Warning Policy and Procedures
It is the policy of Wichita State University that all classes (including examinations, lectures, and laboratories in progress) and activities on campus will be officially suspended when the City of Wichita is included in an officially declared tornado warning. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors shall be instructed to seek appropriate shelter for the duration of the warning.
An officially declared tornado warning is defined as notification that the City of Wichita (or all of Sedgwick County) is included in the warning area as confirmed by the National Weather Service via a weather alert radio, AM/FM radio, and Emergency Building Coordinator, or the University Police Department.
An Emergency Building Coordinator is one or more persons per building on campus designated as such by a Budget Officer or Budget Review Officer. The coordinator has the authority to instruct persons in the building to take shelter and direct them to the appropriate location.
WSU Office of Disability Procedures
For all staff and students at ODS, when ODS is notified that we should seek shelter because of a tornado warning, we will all proceed to the Heskett Center. Student Assistants (SA's) will ask students if they would like assistance to the Heskett Center. Students should also be willing to ask for assistance from ODS. ODS staff will encourage everyone to take shelter; if students refuse, they do so at their own risk. ODS staff will lock the office as they leave and will reopen after the Tornado Warning has been lifted.
If you are in another building when the siren sounds, go directly to the shelter area. If the building you are in does not have an accessible tornado shelter, go to the main lobby of the building. Each building and each floor of every building will have an Emergency Building and Floor Coordinator. These individuals will be in the main lobby areas of the building directing traffic flow and answering people's questions. The coordinators will have information on the nearest location of an accessible shelter. The building and floor coordinators will also be on duty for other emergency situations, i.e. fire or bomb threats. Building coordinators will be wearing a bright orange name tag which says Building Coordinator.
Guidelines that Student Assistants (SA's) are advised to follow:
- It is advisable to proceed immediately to a safe shelter.
- If an SA is working with a student, the SA will stay with the student if the student chooses to go to a shelter.
- If a student does not want to go to shelter, they are not required to do as so, but the SA should go to a shelter immediately.
- If a SA is working when a tornado warning is issued, the SA will be paid for the time the SA is in the shelter.
- SA's: If the student you are assisting refuses to go to shelter, fill out an Incident form when you return to the office.
- Students: If a SA refuses to assist you to shelter or leaves before the Tornado Warning has lifted, please inform the Director or Assistant Director as soon as possible.
- ODS staff and SA's will not assist with loading anyone in their cars once a tornado warning has been issued.
- Do not take any unnecessary chances during emergencies.